To Nature [before 3 April 1873]
Summary
Comments on article ["Perception and instinct in lower animals", Nature 7 (1871): 377–8].
Explains his contention that "many of the most wonderful instincts have been acquired, independently of habit, through the preservation of useful variations of pre-existing instincts". Cites examples: sterile workers of several species of social insects have acquired different instincts; movements of tumbler pigeons. Speculates that "many instincts have originated from modification or variations in the brain".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [before 3 Apr 1873] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 3 April 1873, pp. 417–18 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8838 |
To Nature [before 3 April 1873]
Summary
"The following fact with respect to the habits of ants, which I believe to be quite new, has been sent to me by a distinguished geologist, Mr J. D. Hague [see 8788]; and it appears well worth publishing."
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [before 3 Apr 1873] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 10 April 1873, pp. 443–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8853 |
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Matches: 6 hits
- … The Scottish botanist John Scott wrote from Calcutta, 4 May 1868 : “Shame is … expressed by an …
- … corporal punishment and not the susceptibilities of a moral nature.” Darwin did not typically …
- … online ahead of schedule as part of the “Darwin and Human Nature” project, funded by the Arts and …
- … Foster, Michael 4 June [1871] Trinity College, …
- … Geach, F.F. 4 July 1868 Johore, Malaysia …
- … Haast, J.F.J. von 4 Dec 1867 Christchurch, New …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 15 hits
- … Butler, as he told his daughter Henrietta Litchfield on 4 January , ‘would like its publication …
- … Balfour translated Krause’s account and published it in Nature , and George Romanes wrote such …
- … as for its success’, Darwin told Arabella Buckley on 4 January . Buckley had suggested …
- … ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ). Unlike Darwin’s other …
- … of leaves that were so original that Darwin sent them to Nature for publication. Darwin, who was …
- … publish, although he was sending his printers ‘in 3 or 4 weeks the M.S. of a quite small book of …
- … to me that anyone could watch the movements & doubt its nature. But these doubts have led me to …
- … He was scrupulous in sending any important observations to Nature or incorporating them into his …
- … there proves that I took a very erroneous view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( …
- … scientific material Darwin received, he subscribed to Nature , which he thought ‘an excellent …
- … [1881] ). Feeling ‘awfully guilty’ for doing so, on 4 August Hooker sent Darwin a list of queries …
- … ‘I was a fool to go,’ he told William Darwin on 4 August , ‘but I could hardly have declined.’ He …
- … new investigations’. Thanking Wiesner for the book on 4 October , Darwin warned him, ‘I read …
- … problem: he had been asked to review Wiesner’s book for Nature . ‘It might be an opportunity of …
- … response to Wiesner’s book appeared in the issue of Nature published the day after Darwin’s …
German poems presented to Darwin
Summary
Experiments in deepest reverence The following poems were enclosed with a photograph album sent as a birthday gift to Charles Darwin by his German and Austrian admirers (see letter from From Emil Rade, [before 16] February 1877). The poems were…
Matches: 6 hits
- … will ich mich nicht bewähren?” To nature. Cast aside your …
- … you vain dreamers! Looking for peace and quiet in nature? An endless vicious struggle …
- … on a bigger scale? Cast aside your hypocrite mask, Nature! Stop patching yourself up …
- … “Es hebt ihn keiner, bis ich selbst ihn hebe!” 4 O schlauer Spruch! Wann hätte je der Gott …
- … “You may not lift it, till I myself shall lift it!” 4 O what a wise saying! When did God …
- … poem of the same name by Friedrich von Schiller. 4. This is a partial quotation from …
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…
Matches: 4 hits
- … 1863). Landells, W., True manhood: its nature, foundation and development , (London, …
- … species : A b iography , (London, 2006), chapter 4: Controversy , pp. 84 – 117. …
- … , (Yale, 1995). Gianquitto, M., ' Good observers of nature’: American women and the …
- … B., Victorian popularizers of science: Designing nature for new audiences (Chicago, 2007). …
List of correspondents
Summary
Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…
Matches: 23 hits
- … (1) Alberts, Karl (4) Alberts, Maurice …
- … (2) Allman, G. J. (4) Althaus, Julius …
- … (1) Atkinson, Edward (4) Aubertin, J. J. …
- … (1) Bailey, W. W. (4) Baillie, A. F. …
- … (1) Bary, Anton de (4) Bashford, Frederick …
- … (1) Behrens, Wilhelm (4) Beke, C. T. …
- … (1) Bianconi, G. G. (4) Bibliogr. Inst. …
- … (8) Blackwall, John (4) Blackwell, A. L. B. …
- … (7) Blair, R. H. (4) Blake, C. C. (3 …
- … (2) Broca, Paul (4) Broderip, W. J. …
- … (1) Browne, Hugh (4) Browne, W. R. …
- … (1) Canning, A. S. G. (4) Capes, Frederick …
- … (1) Cardwell, Edward (4) Carlier, A. G. …
- … (1) Chapman, John (4) Charles, R. F. …
- … (2) Cheeseman, T. F. (4) Chemical supplier …
- … (1) Chester, J. L. (4) Chiantore, G. …
- … (2) Clark, J. W. (b) (4) Clarke, Benjamin …
- … (3) Coan, T. M. (4) Cobbe, F. P. (13 …
- … (2) Crotch, G. R. (4) Crotch, W. D. …
- … (56) Dallinger, W. H. (4) Daly, J. …
- … (11) Dobson, G. E. (4) Dodel-Port, Arnold …
- … Natural History Review (1) Nature (35) …
- … Hist. Rev. (1) editor of Nature (2) …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 11 hits
- … also contributed to discussions in the scientific weekly Nature on the role of inherited and …
- … knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). Keeping it in the …
- … off, & most of them sold!” Reviews remarked on the popular nature of the book. Full of …
- … Darwin received a letter from John Traherne Moggridge on the nature of animal instinct. Moggridge, …
- … Darwin soon became involved in a related discussion in Nature magazine, forwarding a letter from …
- … fearful of butchers and butcher’s shops ( letter to Nature , [before 13 February 1873] ). …
- … triggered by smell. Darwin joined the debate, writing to Nature ( letter to Nature , [before …
- … after he had smashed some with his finger ( letter to Nature , [before 3 April 1873] ). …
- … by seeing the corpses of a fellow species” ( letter to Nature , [before 24 July 1873] ). …
- … the project as “utopian” ( letter to Francis Galton, 4 January [1873] ). Continuing the line of …
- … character traits in families, and the comparative role of nature and nurture by gathering statistics …
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 5 hits
- … translation, 1863 2d French translation 1865 4 th English edition published, 1866 …
- … Lyell, 11 October [1859] and letter from Charles Lyell, 4 October 1859 ). Despite having …
- … doomed to disappointment. 3 rd to 4 th editions This …
- … Everything which I have read during last 4 years I find is quite washy in my mind . Once …
- … had argued for an innate tendency to perfectibility in nature based on his view that plant species …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 6 hits
- … experiment as an illustration of its tender and sympathetic nature: ‘everyone has heard of the dog …
- … Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied in a letter to Nature , insisting that he had never …
- … for his ‘ingenuity and perseverance’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] ). When Galton …
- … stated his position most frankly in a letter to Henrietta, 4 January [1875] . I have long …
- … at the present agitation. ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January [1875] ) Darwin worked …
- … a persecuted religious sect’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 June [1876] ). Experimenters and a …
New material added to the American edition of Origin
Summary
A ‘revised and augmented’ American edition of Origin came on the market in July 1860, and was the only authorised edition available in the US until 1873. It incorporated many of the changes Darwin made to the second English edition, but still contained…
Matches: 15 hits
- … US ed., pp. i–xi) New material added to chapter 4 on ‘Natural selection’ ( ibid ., pp. …
- … he seems to attribute all the beautiful adaptations in nature,—such as the long neck of the giraffe …
- … in accordance with external circumstances, as food, the nature of the habitat and the meteoric …
- … and beautiful co-adaptations, which we see throughout nature;—I cannot see that we thus gain any …
- … selection. But he does not show how selection can act under nature. He believes, like Dean Herbert, …
- … qu’il doit remplir dans l’organisme général de la nature, fonction qui est pour lui sa raison d’être …
- … affected by circumambient molecules of a particular nature, and thus have given rise to new forms. …
- … or revelation as it is opposed to the general analogy of nature. If, on the other hand, we view …
- … liable to extermination from accidental fluctuations in the nature of seasons and in the number of …
- … and to seize on every ill-occupied place in the economy of nature, that it is quite possible for …
- … would be of actual disservice, as being of a more delicate nature, and more liable to be put out of …
- … propagated for a succession of generations in a state of nature, modification might be effected …
- … Page 79, 2 six lines from bottom, after word ‘‘nature,’’ insert parenthesis—reading the whole …
- … and bearing in mind, &c., &c. Page 169, 4 tenth line from top, after ‘ …
- … great and sudden transition would in fact be effected in the nature of the plant. Pages 293 …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 21 hits
- … published in Paris (in 2 vols.), so long ago as 1839 4 [Pierquin de Gembloux 1839]. Said to …
- … et anim: on sleep & movements of plants £ 1 ..s 4. [Dutrochet 1837] Voyage aux …
- … observations on increase & decrease of different diseases 4 to . 1801 [Heberden 1801] quoted …
- … worth reading [Dampier 1697] Sportsman’s repository 4 to . [W. H. Scott 1820]— contains …
- … Audubons Ornithol: Biography [Audubon 1831–9]— 4 Vols. well worth reading [DAR *119: 4v.] …
- … 1838] Atlas de la Geographie des trois Regnes de la nature. Paris. 6: folio par Céran de …
- … 1840] [DAR *119: 13] Tucker’s light of Nature [Tucker 1768–78] Johnson …
- … 1834] recommended by Sir. J. Mackintosh J. Long Moral Nature of Man [Long 1747] Novum Organum …
- … [Morton 1839] (Preface) Royal Soc. Aspects of Nature Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]— (d[itt …
- … History of Brazil [R. Southey 1810–19]. Aspects of Nature. Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]. …
- … Lardners 2 nd vol March 16 Gardner’s Music of nature [Gardiner 1832] Life of Haydn …
- … increase of Hab. earth [Linnaeus 1781a]. Wilcke on Police of Nature [Wilcke 1781]. Hoffberg on …
- … May 7 th Skimmed a little of Tucker’s light of nature [Tucker 1768–78]. intolerably prolix …
- … on Travel [Linnaeus 1759]. Biberg on œconomy of nature [Biberg 1759]. Barck on foliation of …
- … 1805] very poor. 20 th Botanic Garden & Temple of Nature [E. Darwin] 1789–91 and 1803] …
- … (d[itt]o) 20 th Reflections on the Study of Nature by Linnæus. (translated) [Linnaeus 1785 …
- … All. Very little —— 29. Humboldt Tableau de la Nature [A. von Humboldt 1808] —— …
- … references to Domestic Birds &c read Belon Hist de la nature des Oiseaux 1555 [Belon 1555 …
- … 2] 1852. Feb. 24 th . Humboldts Aspects of Nature [A. von Humboldt 1849].— …
- … [G. Head 1837] good —— 11. Oersted’s Soul of Nature [Ørsted 1847] (dreadful) —— 24 th …
- … [F. B. Head 1852a]. Aug. 4 th Martineau: Man’s Nature & Development [Atkinson and …
Language: Interview with Gregory Radick
Summary
Darwin made a famous comment about parallels between changes in language and species change. Gregory Radick, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Leeds University, talks about the importance of the development of language to Darwin, what…
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Matches: 7 hits
- … Two Mission priests Mr. Maclagan 3 & Mr. Wilkinson 4 had the bulk of the work. …
- … them of a higher life— The plan of the Mission is 3 or 4 services every day in the church with one …
- … done before. Her faith in God comes entirely from her inner nature— Now she can trace him in the …
- … kno goodness how can we recognise in which part of our nature God is revealed— If our judgement is …
- … remember that family life will stretch & exercise my whole nature. I will try to keep …
- … [ iron ] side which it is perfectly true is in my nature. & I am selfish—even now I am …
- … Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7. 4 Probably John Bourdieu Wilkinson . …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 8 hits
- … ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). The technical nature of Huxley’s argument prompted …
- … to long hours of work’ ( letter to Easton and Anderson, 4 May [1874] ). At the end of June, …
- … a source of inspiration. In April, he wrote a letter to Nature, observing that the flowers of …
- … primroses were abundant in each district ( letter to Nature , 18 April [1874] ). He …
- … by her canaries ( letter from T. M. Story-Maskelyne, 4 May 1874 ). In a second letter to Nature …
- … blindfolded from the moment of being hatched ( letter to Nature , 7 and 11 May [1874] ; …
- … with the contraction of Dionaea leaves in Nature (Burdon Sanderson 1874). Hooker also …
- … Society of France ( letter to Eugène Desmarest, 4 March 1874 ). He featured in the scientific …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 9 hits
- … evolutionary account of the ‘higher’ faculties of human nature: reason, conscience, and aesthetic …
- … of Descent , he wrote to Philip Lutley Sclater on 4 January , ‘Heaven knows, whether the book …
- … Darwin to rest the uniqueness of humans on their fallen nature: sin has infected the being of humans …
- … produce physiological changes ( letter from Michael Foster, 4 June [1871] ). Pangenesis …
- … hypothesis. Darwin quickly responded with a letter to Nature , questioning one of the central …
- … had not yet ‘received its death blow’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] ). The …
- … can hardly sit up, so no more’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 4 August [1871] ). On 23 September he …
- … good as twice refined gold’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 September [1871] ). The months …
- … foundations of religious belief, Christian charity, and the nature of sympathy are contained in …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 8 hits
- … Müller, 1 January 1882 , and letter to Fritz Müller, 4 January 1882 ). These were topics that …
- … thin slices, yet are found to differ greatly in the nature of their contents, if immersed for …
- … in apposition’, was read at the Linnean Society on 4 May, but not published. Darwin carried …
- … of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice looked to Darwin to …
- … A lecture by Robert Stawell Ball that was printed in Nature declared George ‘the discoverer of …
- … Jamaica ‘for complete rest’ ( letter to Anthony Rich, 4 February 1882 ). Horace had settled in …
- … all the breeds from India & China. Any assistance of this nature would be invaluable; but I know …
- … seems to me a much more difficult point from its graduated nature: some time ago my son, Mr G. …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 11 hits
- … anatomist St George Jackson Mivart in his Lessons from nature that Darwin had ‘at first …
- … Wallace for his critical review of Mivart’s Lessons from nature . ... supporting friends …
- … curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February 1876] ). 'The heat of …
- … as stemming a torrent with a reed’, he told Romanes on 4 June , but added, ‘Frank … who sputters …
- … translation in 1876. ‘What is more to be wondered at—Nature in all her contrivances,—or man’s mind, …
- … the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September 1876] ). ...all sorts of …
- … ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It seemed to …
- … Darwin communicated this information in an article in Nature ( letter from Johann von Fischer, …
- … for an article on the snail’s heart and a letter to Nature on the use of the chemical …
- … say is do not commit suicide’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [4 June 1876] ). By midsummer, Darwin …
- … size of pollen grains & state of stigma’, he told Gray on 4 December. Darwin also adopted …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 8 hits
- … improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] ). It was not until …
- … for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In early June, he wrote to …
- … from the Linnean Society ( letter to [Richard Kippist], 4 June [1865] ). The paper was published …
- … to high scientific account’ (A. Gray 1865–6, pp. 273-4). Darwin had also written to Gray on 19 …
- … for him to read attentively ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ). The fact that …
- … do it if it ever can be done’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ); the hard work of …
- … perhaps because of his awareness of the collaborative nature of much of his work, he expressed a …
- … keep out of contact with him’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 4 May [1865] ). Darwin contributed …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 12 hits
- … of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in nature both had a direct bearing on Darwin’s …
- … of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in nature directly confronted experts and non …
- … his criticisms in a letter in the Athenæum , on 4 April, concluding with an invitation to Lyell …
- … in 1863. From Shropshire, where Darwin first began observing nature, he was invited to become an …
- … for every plant, and stated that there must then be ‘in nature, a deeper seated and innate principle …
- … VI). However, when Evidence as to man’s place in nature was published in February 1863, Huxley …
- … IV). Darwin continued to investigate the true nature of sterility, a question he had been …
- … that he had started the previous year ( letter to Asa Gray, 4 August [1863] ). The results were …
- … in other flowers, provided evidence for his assertion that nature ‘abhors perpetual self …
- … as anything in orchids’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 4 August [1863] ). He acquired tropical …
- … ‘It was indeed one of the strongest feelings in his nature, and was exemplified in matters small and …
- … slaves stops all my enthusiasm’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 4 August [1863] ). He urged Gray not to hate …
Darwin and vivisection
Summary
Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Power Cobbe. It called upon the RSPCA to investigate the nature and scope of vivisections performed …
- … on the Trichinae’ (letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January [1875] ). Darwin also worried that any …
- … experiment as an example of its tender and sympathetic nature: ‘everyone has heard of the dog …
- … a new sketch for a petition (letter from T. H. Huxley, [4 April 1875] ). This was evidently …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
